Alastoska
In Nieron's southwestern corner, claiming the whole of the Indocene Archipelago, is the nation of Alastoska- often referred to by more poetic sorts as the Kingdom of Fire and Tears. Centuries ago it was a peaceful and benevolent nation, but now exists as a constant thorn in the side of the other Nierese nations, and a reminder of what happens when Heretics are allowed to grow and prosper without fetters or obstructions. All of Alastoska is now united in their worship of the twisted Aztlani gods, their domination by the lineage of the Del Maron God-Kings, and most likely being forever lost in willing damnation and corruption. The Indocene is not a very heavily developed region, even less so than Brahilo. The Alastoskans are quite primitive, relying almost solely on whatever their nominal allies in the Allamian Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Blackened Brass send them, and whatever they can steal from other countries during raids. The country's numerous towns look very haphazard as a result, supported by whatever happens to have been scrounged up or jury-rigged by the locals. Extensive education isn't really much of a concern for the Toskans, with the exception of their religious beliefs, which everyone must know by heart. Following the corrupted Aztlani gods means that the Toskans require huge numbers of people- they have the largest population of any other country in Nieron, indeed only a few places across all Scylla can begin to compare. Aside from the obvious benefits of national security- no one is eager to invade Alastoska, they'd have to fight every civilian who could hold a blade, bow, or gun- the adherence to the mad Aztlani requires lots and lots of sacrifices. Ideally, sacrifices can be gained by raiding other countries, taking huge groups of whatever people they can get their hands on, enslaving them, and working them half to death until the time comes to offer up beating hearts to the gods. But as those enemy nations become more coordinated with their allies and develop better technologies and magics, it becomes necessary for the Toskans to pick sacrifices from their own ranks, and it's only acceptable to use their own people as sacrifices if huge numbers are offered up all at once. And then of course there's the cannibalism, which is a popular means of providing extra food for lean years and a requirement for performing successful rituals dedicated to Mictlantecuhtli. Life is frighteningly cheap in Alastoska, about the only thing scarier is how the populace seems perfectly content and at ease with it all. The veneration of their foul gods, the cannibalism, and the near-sociopathic society that has been developed makes the Toskans an aggressive and unstable people who hold high expectations for all the sacrifices they make- and their leaders are only too happy to deliver on their promises. Every holiday celebrated in the kingdom is accompanied by grandiose festivals and events. All manner of teams appear in major towns and the capital city of Nlaztica to participate in huge sporting events, local studios endlessly broadcast propaganda films and stories, and sacrificial rituals where anywhere from hundreds to thousands of individuals will be shown partying and having an incredibly good time before being violently cut open and their blood spilled in the name of the gods, and afterwards fed to the royal family and highest ranking clergy. The celebrations are even bigger if raiding parties are able to acquire the choicest sorts of sacrifices; which, for reasons known only to the Toskans, are flight-capable Kemono, Dragons, and those who worship Quetzalcoatl. Such desirable victims will double the size of any celebratory festival, and double the length of time the rites are dragged out. The current God-King is Kaloska Del Maron, an unusually tall Draconid who claims to be only two generations removed from Huitzilopochtli himself (as have the last three Del Marons, oddly enough). Despite lacking any Half-Celestials or Aasimar (or Tieflings) in the family tree, the Del Marons have been ruling for five centuries, and they've done a spectacular job at brainwashing the public to cement their dynasty's rulership- which is absolute and unquestioned (if one wants to avoid becoming part of the next group of 'willing sacrifices', at least.) Of all the Del Marons, Kaloska is easily the most self-aggrandizing one, he can't get enough of praise and empowerment, no matter how trivial. He claims to have been born in the highest temple of the capital city at exactly noon on the day of his 'grandfathers' most important holiday, which caused twenty thousand sorcerers to simultaneously cut out their own hearts, walk up the thousand steps to his birthplace, and lay the still-beating organs out so that the newborn king could eat them and take their power. And when the last heart was laid, Tlaloc sent a pair of phoenix, accompanied by raging thunderstorms, to wash away the dead to Mictlantecuhtli's realm, so that the newborn king could feast in peace- and because he finished the last heart before the sun set (which would be when Huitzilopochtli's powers were at their weakest), he is the most powerful arcane and divine spellcaster that has ever been or ever will be. The mountains of blessings supposedly bestowed upon him grant him incredible foresight into all events past, present, and future- he knows if people have betrayed him or Alastoska, he knows if they are planning to, and knows if they ever will. He demands that every town in the country have a harem of nubile Draconid virgins set aside solely for him on the off-chance that he should visit, and when he does and the harem is no longer virginal, those who become pregnant must walk to the capital and offer their children up to the royal family so that the young may become part of the God-King's secret army, and then the mothers join the honored ranks of sacrificial offerings to Huitzilopochtli. Those who do not become pregnant are expected to kill themselves on the spot for their failure to bear the God-King's illegitimate progeny- it is said that their souls become trapped in a diamond atop the King's royal scepter, so that they may be used to fuel his spells. Kaloska claims to have invented half the modern conveniences the rest of the Trifecta enjoys, but says that the reason the Toskans do not have so much is because it makes the foreigners weak, which makes it easier to defeat them in glorious battle, and when his developments have weakened them enough, the Alastoskans will conquer the universe. The God-King's royal army took time to build, but he's only in his sixties- and he started ruling in his twenties. While the standing army officially keeps the peace, it's the Royal Guard- composed wholly of Kaloska's illegitimate children- that wields the real military power and helps to keep the populace in line. Every child delivered to the God-King's royal training academies has their face burned off in infancy and a golden mask fused to the flesh. The masks are magical items that grow as the child does, which causes no end of pain- but after years of service and training, they learn how to ignore all pains, and it ceases to bother them. Years of training and brainwashing make them the ultimate in police forces- blindly and absolutely loyal to their father alone, even the highest of priests and priestesses do not dare tempt their wrath. It is said that when a member of the Royal Guard dies, their body is burned and their soul captured in a clay doll coated in very loud bells, which is then placed in the King's royal bedchambers. Should a threat enter they begin to ring the bells, thus continuing their service even in death. As one might expect, these factors lead most people to avoid Alastoska. Though many attempts have been made to draw in tourists- the development of a grand amusement park (which fell apart after a single storm due to shoddy construction), offerings of cheap but incredible exotic vacations, things like that- all but the most oblivious people have long since come to realize that Alastoska is a brutal, violent nation whose continued existence is owed almost solely to two factors- one, that invading and conquering them means butchering millions of blind but ultimately innocent people, and two that every potential invasion route is booby-trapped. It's said that there are no less than two million landmines scattered about Alastoska's borders to keep out invaders, which is why their armies rely heavily on flying beasts to get around rather than going through any ground routes. Primary ethnic groupings: Hispanics, Caucasians. Estimation of Population: 20 million. Racial Census: 80% Draconids, 20% Other. Primary language: Spanish. Secondary languages: Bengali, Javanese, Terran. Nieron Back to Main Page